Dubai bride-to-be Katherine…

August 1, 2012

I received Kat’s submission last night and as I read it I realised I was smiling, not just a little smile but a big smile, ya know when your teeth sightly show.. almost like a big grin. It made me happy, and also miss Nathan. (he’s still away on his Mongol Rally) I must say Kat really reminds me of how I feel about my wedding, just excited and seriously happy.

This gorgeous couple Katherine Twaites and Robin Kearsey (as you can see from above they are both very gorgeous) are getting married in Beautiful South Africa on the 2nd November 2012 with 75-80 other guests flying in from across the globe. ♥ Destination weddings are so exciting!

And over to Kat for all the juicy details…

My Venue… La Petite Ferme, Franschhoek, South Africa

The Proposal…. I got THREE! Firstly I think Robin got over excited and did it in the apartment we were staying at in New York after a day of strolling around the amazing city. He’d been trying to do it for a while, but it had never been quite right, so he just said, “Ok I’m going to do this now….. and then the most wonderful speech, which I can’t really remember as it was so over-whelming (so annoyed that it’s so hazy). But it was a lovely moment and a lovely feeling to have such wonderful things said about you while your partner’s on his knee. Then the following day after buying the most beautiful ring together (he chose it), he did it again at the top of the Rockerfeller Center in New York. Then after calling my Dad to ask his permission (yes, a bit late!) he had to do it again (Dad’s instructions), in Strawberry Fields in Central Park as the garden is dedicated to John Lennon, who is my Dad’s hero. No arguments from me!

The Vision for the day… Relaxed, happy and fun, in our favourite place in the whole world surrounded by family and friends. It’s a vineyard so lots and lots of wine!

The Planning process so far…. The planning has been remarkably easy. We had a few hiccups at the beginning, but mostly that was because my mum was really unhappy with us getting married abroad. (Her vision was a traditional English wedding). Since we took her and my Dad to South Africa to explain why we love it so much there. And then we stayed at our venue (which Robin and I have stayed at many times) to show them why it’s so important for us. Since then it has been pretty plain sailing, especially considering my parents and 2 bridesmaids are in the UK, we live in Dubai and the wedding and my other bridesmaid are in South Africa….. It could have been much worse!

The big money question… The Budget…. Hahahaha! Well…. It could have been cheaper, especially as weddings are quite a bit cheaper in South Africa but then we are asking people to come so far, so we have paid for things such as the Bridal Party’s accommodation on the night of the wedding. Lunch for everyone the day after, dinner the night before etc…. . It all adds up!

My Wedding Dress… I LOVE my dress. I put it on and it just felt like me. The material is stunning and it’s quite relaxed and I just feel very me in it. It makes me happy!

Finding the dress…. Lots of fun! Traipsed around the UK with my mum and bridesmaid’s and none were quite right or they were super expensive…. Came back to Dubai to a little boutique and tried 3 on…. Again none quite right…. But then I asked the sales assistant – Maricelle, if she could have a quick look around to see if there was anything in a similar style that she thought I would like and she came back with my dress! I knew as soon as I saw it and it has the perfect combination of everything I was looking for in the one dress.

Groom’s Threads… Robin’s suits are being tailored in Cape Town which is tricky considering we don’t live there! My bridesmaid Sheena’s father works for a high end suit company and he’s basically sorting out the boys suits for us. We aren’t going to see them until mid-August and then for final fitting in October, so it’s a bit risky, but we trust Kevin and know they’ll be awesome!

The Readings + Music… Readings we have JUST decided on. We were working on them over the weekend and figured out all 3 so quickly as they just clicked into place. One is an excerpt from the first book I ever bought Robin, The Alchemist. It’s beautiful and very relevant as it’s about falling in love in the desert, which is what we did! That’s being read by Robin’s brother Adrian. The second is very light-hearted reading about laughter which is being read by my brother David. The last is read by my other brother Richard, and we’ve just asked him to write a poem or pick one on life. He writes lyrics, so we’re hoping he manages to write one!

Lovely bridesmaids… Angela – my best friend who I met when we were 15. Gabby – my sister and Sheena my best friend in Dubai, who recently moved back to her home country of South Africa.

Flowers… Franschhoek Flowers are sorting out all the flowers. We are going with tulips – pretty much on their own. They are my favourite and so beautiful. They’ll be a light pink colour (I think – we are finalising them in a couple of weeks when we head to Franschhoek for final arrangements)

Yummy Cake… Made by the boyfriend of one of the girls at the venue who was coordinating the event for us. 3 tiers of our favourite cakes – carrot, chocolate and Victoria sponge!

The Details + Décor…. To-Netts in Paarl are sorting out the chairs, dancefloor, candles etc etc…

The Honeymoon…SO excited. 3 whole weeks in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. Absolutely cannot wait. We still haven’t booked it though, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to find accommodation!

Memorable moments… So far….. The amazing click that happens when you come across something that just fits so perfectly. We’ve had that happen with our music for both the ceremony and dance. Also finding my dress with Sam and Daisy. And finally sitting on the grass by the vineyard at La Petite Ferme 3 years ago and Robin saying, “Wouldn’t this be a lovely place to get married?”…… The rest is history!

Advice for other couples… All I’d say is do what you want to do and stay true to yourselves. It is your day. Compromise on the things you’re not too fussed about. Make sure your Mum gets her way on some things! BUT don’t let the little things bother you. On your day just let go and if things go wrong, they go wrong. Who cares? You’re marrying your favourite person in the whole world. Amazeballs!

Credit for my loved ones… Robin has been amazing. So involved and he cares so much about the end result that it’s really nice to have him so involved in the decision making – although sometimes we disagree and then…. I get my way….! It’s the bride’s prerogative right!? 😉 My parents have been really supportive and it was great to organize things with them in Cape Town when they visited the city with us. It’s hard not having your mum around all the time and I hope I’ve managed to get her involved in most things. Robin’s parents have been fab too. Really helpful and supportive throughout the organization. My bridesmaid’s have been brilliant – Sheena was fantastic with all the invitations and the suits for the guys – coordinating so much from South Africa! Angela – amusing me daily with her hilarious emails, but also she is in the middle of organising my hen do in England which I am so excited about. Gabby for being a great sister – so supportive and excited about the wedding. It’s so nice to feel reassured that you’re making right decisions along the way!

I also want to say a big thank you to Kat for taking the time to share all of her wedding plans with us… Uber excited to hear more, and of course see wedding pics.